Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

PIXMOBILE' AUDIO-ED LANGUAGE LABORATORY BOOTH Designed to accommodate all types of electronic equipment of any manufacturer • All-Steel Construction • Maximum Strength and Rigidity • Outstanding Acoustical Control • Comfort • Convenience • Complete Safety ■■nBpnBi>nBf*'|^SIiBjSil ^ V i^jctI BBij|y.:f'IB^^B| PIXMOBILE® QUALITY — the finest available for language laboratory use! The Pixmobile® Audio-Ed Language Laboratory Booth is designed to provide school systems with flexibility in choosing any type of electronic equipment of any manufacturer. As an educational tool, this furniture was selected by the Wichita Board of Education for one of the largest language laboratory installations in the world. A comparison of features reveals the economy, quality, and longlasting value of this equipment. For information and literature, write DepL E ADVANCE PRODUCTS CO. 2310 E. DOUGLAS AVE. / WICHITA, KANSAS AUDIO by Max U. Bildersee "Something OldSomething New" Yale University Audio-Visual Center continues to produce worthy recordings of American poets reading their own works. These are all released under the Carillon label and all merit the attention of serious collectors of instructional records. The first woman to be represented in this collection is Louise Bogan who reads more than two dozen of her own poems. Among the titles presented are "Summer Wish," "The Crossed Apple," "Statue and Birds," "The Romantic" and "Old Countryside." Miss Bogan reads in a somewhat stiff fashion but with studied clarity and great precision. And because this is a representation of her own work who is to question her interpretation other than to point out that she does not sufficiently differentiate in the interpretation of her work from poem to poem. Nonetheless, this is a worthy recording and can well be added to secondary school, college and library collections. The same is true of each of these and of all the other recordings issued under this program. The poems are worthy of attention— they represent our best modern poets. Instructional uses are obvious. Libraries may plan a series of weekly presentations featuring a different modem American poet at each session. Certainly these records can be added to loan collections. Schoolmen thus far have been slow to take advantage of the opportunity these and hundreds of other recordings offer to enrich instructional programs by offering specialized listening sessions during otherwise free periods. Admittedly 'all work and no play' can dull Jack's appreciations, but usually Jack (and Jill, too) has ample opportunity to play above and beyond the hours of the school day. And if Jacks (and Jills) find time hanging heavy on their hands after a recess for lunch or during a rainy day or briefly after school or at any other time, there are a variety of pleasant, relaxing learning opportunities the school can present. And among these (and easiest to arrange quickly, too!) is the recorded presentation of musical or spoken programs. Others in this superior series of recordings which have been released recendy include Lee Anderson reading his four part poem, "Nags Head," John Crowe Ransom reading a variety of his poems and Louis Simpson reading a double baker's dozen of his. A real opportunity for educators is here offered. Lee Anderson's presentation is pa ticularly challenging. In the first plac his recording covers but one poe The four parts of it are subtitle "Painted Desert," "New Year's Eve "Potosi" and "Su.squehanna." Mr. Aifl derson calls upon mankind to use its great genius for language to dissuade it from committing race suicide. He chose the title as symbolic, to some extent, of the current era because Nags Head was the site of man's first powered flight — by the Wright brothers. And this is a further challenge because the poet openly states that the work is designed for listening, that it is designed for oral presentation and aural comprehension. And he succeeds admirably in achieving the effects he seeks. John Crowe Ransom is perhaps the best known of the four poets represented in these releases and yet his recording is in some ways the least satisfactory. Technically it cannot approach the other three for quality largely because this is a 'field' recording, under what might be called primitive conditions, as against a group of studio recordings under more ideal circumstances. Mr. Ransom reads well, but the recording lacks some of the clarity and definition we have come to demand of modern records. He reads, among othen, "Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter," "Here Lies A Lady," "Painted Head," "Judith of Bethulia" and "Piazza Piece." For all its drawbacks, the recording is highly recommended. Louis Simpson offers "The Heroes," "Summer Storm," "The Lover's Ghost," "The Death of Love," "The Green Shepherd" and "Orpheus in the Underworld" in the group represented on the disc bearing his name. These, too, are very good and the recording mav be used well scholastically. 182 Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — April, 1961